Dec.10 (GMM) If a study into the financial habits of formula one teams is any guide, Toyota is not in danger of becoming the next to slip out of the sport.
In the wake of the marque's Japanese rival Honda deciding to quit F1, the Financial Times published the findings of a study into the creditworthiness of the remaining nine teams.In the study, carried out by the business intelligence group Dun and Bradstreet, it emerged that Toyota is in fact only one of two teams that on average pays its bills on time.Dun and Bradstreet's 'F1 Paydex' showed that the Cologne based outfit pays invoices on average five days before they are due. In second and third places are Red Bull's two teams, which pay 99 per cent of their bills on time.On the other end of the scale is Williams, the only team in pitlane not backed by a manufacturer or a billionaire individual.It is revealed that, on average, the British team pays its bills 11 days late -- a similar performance to Honda.Ranking last is Force India, which pays 99 per cent of its bills late, and on average 75 days after they are due.The data shows that Force India's habits in paying bills late have blown out from 50 days at the beginning of 2007.Renault, BMW, Ferrari and McLaren rank in the middle of the study, with between 3 and 40 per cent of their bills respectively paid late.